It was the best of times
On my second day out from Daleville, VA my plan was to hike from Bobblets Gap Shelter to Thunder Hill Shelter, a distance of 24 miles. The forecast called for temperatures of 87 degrees with afternoon thunder storms so I hit the trail at 6:30 to cover as many miles as I could while conditions were more amenable to hiking. By 11:00 I arrived for lunch at the palatial Bryant's Ridge Shelter, a triple decker beauty that could easily sleep 20 hikers. While there I met up again with Butter, Peach, Buddha and Indy who had left Bobblets Gap even earlier than I, 3:00 am to be exact, in order to avoid the heat. Their plan was to cover only 5 more miles to Cornelius Creek Shelter before calling it a day at 19 miles over all. We had a relaxing lunch enjoying the shade by the babbling brook that ran directly in front of the shelter, content in knowing that we had but few miles remaining to hike on this day.
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| Bryant Ridge Shelter |
Shortly after 2:30 I passed Cornelius Creek on my way to Thunder Hill to the sound of distant rumbles of thunder. "Hmmm, should I stop here for the night or keep going? Aw, I bet I can cover the last 5 miles well before this storm strikes." It wasn't meant to be.
One of the joys of hiking in the mountains is that foul weather can clear up at the drop of a hat. On the flip side...that foul weather can also appear at the drop of a hat. And so it was on this day. About 2 miles out from Cornelius Creek, on my way up Apple Orchard Mountain, the threat of the thunder storm turned to a dramatic reality. Crashes of thunder shook the ground under my feet as bolts of lightning danced around the ridge line. "You know," I thought, "it's probably not a great time to be walking up toward the top of the mountain now." Just then the skies opened up with hail and torrential rain. Unlike the coniferous forests of the north there really is no place to run for cover in the southern deciduous forest before the trees leaf out for the summer. So, I pulled my hat down, rounded my shoulders, and kept walking. On these warm southern days there is no point in donning rain gear so I was soon completely soaked from head to toe.
Here's my glaringly obvious advice: Given the choice, try to avoid being outside in a hail storm. Those little ice pellets (about 7-10mm in diameter in this case) felt like hundreds of bees stinging my head and neck and arms and back all at the same time.
It was the best of times
As I approached the summit of Apple Orchard Mountain the storm squall blew away as fast as it had arrived to reveal a beautiful meadow summit with a radar station. Gorgeous! Just over the summit the trail goes under "The Guillotine", a large rock that is wedged between two stone outcroppings. The day was now perfect for photographs so I stopped to take a few to preserve the memory.
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| The Guillotine |
I arrived at the Thunder Hill Shelter just as another of the evening's many rain squalls arrived. What a joy it was to be in out of the rain. After changing into my dry set of clothes, the only others I carry other than what is on my back, I relaxed and chatted a bit with Orange Bear, a hiker from Belgium who was out for a 2 month section hike. Two more high school kids joined us in the shelter around 5:00, arriving completely soaked from another heavy rain squall. As we sat there chatting a gentleman walked up to the shelter with a heavy looking pack and duffel bag.
"Are there any hikers here who would like a cooked supper? I've got eggs, sausage, pancakes and orange juice for any takers."
"You bet. How can we help?"
"You don't have to do anything. I'll do the cooking and you just eat."
With that this trail angel lit his 2-burner Coleman stove and cooked us all a fabulous dinner. What an incredible bit of trail magic!
The gentleman's trail name was "Angle", a moniker he adopted when a former recipient of his magic sent a post card thanking him for the dinner, but had mis-spelled Angel as Angle, and the name stuck. He comes out to this shelter every Tuesday and Thursday from the end of April to the middle of June to cook dinner for who ever is there. He has served as few 1 and as many as 17 in one evening. He started doing this after he supported his son during a thru-hike of the AT and then the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). He says whenever he's having a tough day at home he tells his wife that he's "going to meet some hikers" and heads for this shelter.
When I asked him what he finds so appealing about the hiker crowd he replied: "They are a highly educated and highly motivated group that are great to talk to. In fact they are the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure to know."
Likewise, I'm sure.
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| "Angle" cooking dinner at Thunder Hill Shelter |
Mileage to date = 762.1
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